This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Disclosure Policy to learn more.

I started making this vintage 70’s skirt sewing project just after I gave birth to my second son….., who is now 4.5 years old. Yes. It’s been sitting there in a carrier bag. This was a vintage skirt find and I recycled the fabric. There wasn’t enough harvested fabric for a shift dress so skirt it was. My first attempt at self-drafting was too small (I didn’t think to try the fit as I made duh!).

The project has been sat in a carrier bag for years until this past couple of months when I came by it as I was looking for something in the attic. So I decided to unstitch and start again because I fell for the fabric all over again. Unfortunately, I had to lose the waistband and opted for a Petersham waistband instead. But no worries, I LOVE Petersham now, it was so easy to use and it created a lovely comfortable finish without the hassle of interfacing.

The pattern is based on a 1970’s high-waisted four-panel A-Line skirt. I used an invisible zipper which I am quite proud of because I had been dreading it. With an invisible zipper foot and an ‘oomph and ah ‘ the deed was done in less than 5 minutes flat. I was happy, and satisfied until I saw the fashion fabric side……ah well…. can’t win ’em all. I didn’t have enough fabric to match up the patterns exactly so I let it go…let it go.

This is the first time I have lined a skirt and it was fun. The fabric is a medium-weight rayon wool type (I say this with NO authority whatsoever) I think and it has a lovely swishyness to it. I didn’t want to line it all so I only lined the half that has to slide easily on and off when putting on the garment. I found that when I was trying it on to check for fit the material sort of clung to my leggings IYSWIM.

But before lining the Petersham had to go in. The book I referred to was really good (The Sewing Dictionary I think). A lot of handstitching around the zip….looking at the pictures now I do need to improve my handstitching among other things.

I am just so glad I have actually done this and finished it. Incredible feeling to finish something….so much that I actually entered it into the Pattern Review Sewing Bee, which I was duly eliminated from ;-).